Alert sounded in Assam for cyclone Mahasen

An alert has been sounded across Assam as cyclone Mahasen is likely to hit the north-eastern states on Thursday night, officials said today.

All boats and ferry services on Brahmaputra have been closed for the next three days and fishermen have been directed not to venture out to the river.

A control room has been set up in the district headquarters though no evacuation was required at the moment as the intensity was expected to be less.

South Assam or Barak Valley was expected to experience the cyclone with other parts of the state expected to receive heavy to moderate rainfall, sources at the Regional Meteorological Centre at Guwahati said.

The storm had formed over the Andaman and Nicobar islands on May 10 and was moving in north-west direction but on May 14, it started moving towards north-east, Deputy Director General of Meteorology Mahesh Kumar Gupta said.

The wind was moving at a speed of 55 to 65 km per hour and was likely to affect Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and south Assam with heavy rains likely in these areas during the next 48 hours, he said.

Rains and thundershowers were also likely in some other parts of Assam, he added.